Effect of shilajit on the heart of Daphnia: A preliminary study.
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Date
2012-01
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Abstract
Shilajit is a mineral-rich complex organic compound used in the traditional system of Ayurvedic medicine for treating
hypertension and improving the cardiac function with many herbomineral preparations. However, very little experimental
evidence is available about its effect on the cardiac function. We used Daphnia as a model organism for observing the
effect of shilajit on its heart due to its myogenic properties and its response to number of cardioactive drugs that are
known to affect human heart function. Genome of Daphnia shows the strongest homology with the human genome.
These characteristics of Daphnia make it an ideal organism for biomedical research. Our results suggest that this complex
organic compound lowers the heart beats as its concentration increases from 1.0 to 100 ppm. The beats come to near
normal condition at 1000 ppm. Above 1000 ppm, the beats are very fast and impossible to count. These results indicate
a negative chronotropic effect on the Daphnia heart at low concentrations and a positive chronotropic effect to arrhythmia
and fi nally failure at increasing higher concentrations of shilajit.
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Keywords
Chronotropic effect, Daphnia, shilajit
Citation
Gaikwad N S, Panat A V, Deshpande M S, Ramya K, Khalid P U, Augustime P. Effect of shilajit on the heart of Daphnia: A preliminary study. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 2012 Jan-Mar; 3(1): 3-5.